Wednesday, December 7, 2011

AVOID THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

There are but two more weeks left in the year for our top dogs to secure their final spot in the national rankings. This week There are four show clusters on both coasts and in the Great Lakes region to help exhibitors bolster their 2011 resume.

In New England, point hungry competitors will gather in Providence RI for the Middlesex County Kennel Club, the Ladies' Dog Club, & the Eastern Dog Club’s four shows starting tomorrow. In Southern California the Shoreline Dog Fanciers Association Of Orange County & the Malibu Kennel Club will kick off their four show set on Friday in Costa Mesa. Chicago area fanciers will split the four days between Starved Rock Kennel Club’s Thursday/Friday shows in Wheaton IL & the Skokie Valley Kennel Club‘s Saturday/Sunday stand in Rosemont IL.

There are more multiple show offerings elsewhere. The Greater Hickory Kennel Club & the Forsyth Kennel Club will kick off their three shows in Winston-Salem NC on Friday and the Greater Collin Kennel Club, the Texas Kennel Club, & the Trinity Valley Kennel Club will preface their three shows in Dallas TX with the North Texas Terrier Club’s limited breed show of Thursday.

Toy dog owners can combine limited breed shows with all breed competition both in Miami FL where the Toy Dog Club Of South Florida Friday show will be the warm up for the Greater Miami Dog Club two weekend shows. Out in Ridgefield WA the Willamette Toy Dog Fanciers will double down offering limited breed shows both on Thursday & Friday to introduce the Greater Clark County Kennel Club’s weekend fare. Finally there is a traditional two day weekend with he Granite City Kennel Club Of St Cloud, Minnesota in, where else, St Cloud MN.

All of this leads up to the big final weekend of the year and the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Orlando FL on December 17th & 18th. It’s a record entry with almost 3700 dogs in the regular classes, far and away the largest of the year. This weekend may be your last to see the top dogs in your area. It also may be a chance to see next year's top dogs. Just check out our most recent additions to our DOGS2WATCH list. Come on, you know you need a break from the mall & the Christmas shopping crush. An AKC dog show is just the ticket to put you in a holiday mood.

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comments:

Let's hope Chicago doesn't look like that painting ... I know at least ONE top dog that will be "turning and burning" and heading straight to FL from the Chicago shows! Safe travels to everyone, wish we could be there too!

AKC will be doing a live stream of the Groups & BIS on their site (AKC.org). There will also be a tape delay broadcast on your local ABC affiliate on Saturday, Feb 4th, 2012. Check you local listings for times.

NUMBER EIGHT

NUMBER NINE

NUMBER TEN

SHOW INFO

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The author has been attending dog shows as a spectator and exhibitor for over 45 years. He is a retired management consultant who has advised multiple organizations affiliated with the AKC and the Cat Fanciers Association on business management, long range planning, customer service, and legislative matters. After 25 years of living in the big cities of New York, San Francisco, and Washington, DC, he now resides in his hometown of Memphis, TN.

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